Your Questions Answered By Andrew Martin

International Master Andrew Martin from England presents a regular series of articles to answer any questions that Chess.com readers have about the game of chess.

If you want to ask Andrew a question, then send an email to askandrew@chess.com and next time your question could be featured! Please include your real name and your chess.com member name, but you can ask to remain anonymous if you wish!

Now it's over to Andrew for this week's questions and answers...

AnonymousHello Andrew.I really enjoy your column and have recently been taking chess more seriously. Here is my problem. I have games where I get good positions and I begin to convert my advantages into a fine attack, and when going for a combination I miss an in-between move! Which gives me a worse position and looking for the draw.I have done so much tactical training, cds books etc, but they only really cater to forced variations, threats etc. So I was wondering whether you have any training methods or suggestions to counter this? Thanks for any help.

Messing up good or winning positions on a frequent basis is one of the most frustrating aspects of chess. I would say firstly: persevere! Things will get better. Possibly asking yourself questions after every move such as: Is he threatening anything ? What are my plans, what are his plans, will help too. Ask yourself: am I creating the types of position where mistakes are likely to occur ?

Consider the Torre Attack. The Torre is based on a rock-solid development plan, so even if Black knows exactly how to respond or gets aggressive he can often find himself banging his head against a brick wall. Club players sometimes make small mistakes, so it is nice to be playing the type of position that is almost fireproof. It is very difficult to make a game-losing mistake as White in the Torre. In our coming game, one of the most dangerous attacking players the United States has ever produced, struggles to open the game as Black, but can get nowhere against the Torre formation.

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 c5 4.e3 h6 5.Bxf6 [5.Bh4 keeps a bit more tension in the position. It's a question of taste, but I think Kogan was aiming for clarity against Christiansen. He wanted first and foremost to get to a situation where Black could not display his remarkable attacking skill.]

5...Qxf6 6.Nbd2 cxd4 7.exd4 Nc6 8.c3 d5 9.Bd3 Bd6 10.0–0 0–0 11.Qe2 This is a nice position for White if he wishes to insure himself against losing. His pieces are all working well together, he has a safe King and the Rooks are poised to come into the game. Left alone, White's plan is surely Rae1 and Ne5, followed by f2-f4, so Black takes action. TIP Aim for coherent development in the Torre. This will always stand you in good stead. [11.Re1 e5]

11...Re8 12.Rae1 e5! 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Bxe5 At the cost of inheriting a weak pawn on d5, Black has freed his queenside pieces and threatens ...Bxh2+.

15.Qd1! Carefully avoiding both [15.Qh5 Qf4! and; 15.Qf3 Qg5 both of which give Black plenty of activity to compensate him for the isolated pawn.]

15...Bd7 16.Nf3 Bc7 [16...Bg4 17.Be2! is a continuation of the same solid strategy, Black is quite unable to make any headway against the White kingside and still stands a bit worse due to the pawn on d5. 17...Bf4 (17...Bxf3 18.Bxf3 d4 19.c4) 18.Nd4! Bxe2 19.Rxe2]

17.Rxe8+ Rxe8 18.Re1 It's clear that Kogan is happy with a draw and also that Black cannot stop him!

White has retained his small edge to the end. Now you may quite rightly ask me : 'who wants to play for a draw with White'? I would say it is very useful to be able to play an opening where you have this option in your locker. The average player quite regularly ends up playing chess when tired, on call of duty. Economy of effort is not at all a bad thing at these moments. The Torre will allow you to set up a promising position, with no development problems, without expending too much energy. It is thus a very practical opening. TIP Busy chessplayers need to find coping solutions when forming an opening repertoire.

Mark LiewDear Andrew, I have been playing online chess quite actively for more then 3 years now. I had achieved an online rating of around 1600 last year but recently I find it increasingly difficult to improve and consequently feel discouraged. As such, I have not played online since February. I guess the one question that's burning in me is this, is chess simply degrading to a memorizing sequential game of best 'played' moves? I find that chess leaves very little room for creativity nowadays because of huge opening theory and databases. Sometimes I feel kinda pointless playing out the same moves again and again in the opening.

Also, what does it take to improve in chess? Is there a tried and tested method? Even for players like me who have very limited time on their hands? My lifelong goal would have been to break 2000 ELO online, is that possible for a guy of my age (26 years old)? I usually play rapid games of 10+5 mins or 15–0 minutes. Should I play longer games? Thank you for your time in this matter. A discouraged chess player.

Dear Mark, One of the most important aspects of chess is the social element. I think you must simply play more offine! It sounds as though you are a little bit negative about chess, but of course that is easy to do if you are playing most of your games alone at a computer screen against opposition that can at best be described as 'abstract'. Online chess is OK, but it is absolutely no substitute for over the board play with a flesh and blood opponent sitting opposite you. My strong advice is to join a club or play tournaments.

Chess.com member JAFAREBELLASBOEHi Andrew,Not been on chess.com for long and bit of a novice, must admit. My question is this... If a player is prepared to exchange queens early on in a chess match, could this then lead to a good insight as to how good a chess player is regarding intelligent use of other pieces/tactics or is it wise to keep your own queen on board as far as is possible? Thank you

Dear Sir, Queenless positions are just as much a part of chess as any other aspect of the game. To play them successfully you need good technique and as you say, intelligence. In 2000 Kramnik frustrated Kasparov by repeatedly using the Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez, offering queenless middlegames from the outset in order to nullify Kasparov's superior dynamic talent. Many Berlin's have passed under the bridge since then.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 Battle lines are drawn. It is useless to approach a position like this in terms of variations. What is important is to list strengths and weaknesses and what both players should be aiming for. The list stacks up as follows:

White positives:

1) Kingside pawn majority

2) Safe King

3) Easy development

4) Immediate control of the centre.

Negatives:

1) Initiative may run out of steam

Black positives:

1) Two strong Bishops.

2) The Bishop on c8 has no opponent, therefore light-squared play is the key.

3) Black's King is well-placed for any endgames that arise

Negatives:

1) The Black position needs patient unravelling, Black remains passive for a while.

2) The Black King interferes with the coordination of his Rooks. A summary like this helps us to understand what follows.

12.Bb2 Ng6 13.Ne4 Kc8 14.Kh2 Nf4 15.Rad1 Bf5 16.Rfe1 White has a small, nagging edge, typical of this line. Not everyone has the defensive technique of Kramnik, nor the need in club chess to simply play for a draw with Black. So what happens next is very instructive and demonstrates how White should handle this type of middlegame. Basically, it's all about getting the kingside pawns going.

To answer the original question: a chessplayer has to earn to like queenless positions, as they are going to crop up from time to time. However, as we've seen, they can be full of interest.

AnonymousHi Mr Andrew. I am a fairly experienced chess player who knows all the rules, but wants to learn some openings. I had a look at the moves for a couple of common ones, like the Ruy Lopez and the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian Defense. I saw that the moves were given for both black, and white, so I was confused. What caused the confusion was the fact that if, I for example, am white and use Ruy Lopez, then will my opponent play the exact required moves for black. In GM games, and such, how does one person play an opening, without the other player playing exactly the moves required for Player 1's opening?Thank you so much!

Dear Sir, It sounds that you need to learn the ideas behind the chess openings. A good grasp of general principles will help you to play all positions well, irrespective of the opening moves played. I would concentrate on grounding yourself in the basics of opening play. Find yourself a copy of 'The Ideas behind the Chess Openings' by Reuben Fine, which is a classic work and will certainly help you. [Ed – the idea that opening moves can be played without regard to your opponent’s responses is a suprisingly common misconception among beginners. Whatever opening you try to play, you have to take account of your opponent’s replies – you can’t play an opening if he doesn’t play the ‘right’ moves in response!]

Benny KristensenDear Mr. Martin I play chess at club level (1602) in Denmark.I recently got your excellent ABC of the Sicilian Dragon.I enjoy this CD very much and think that you are very good at explaning how to play this opening. The dragondorf really inspired me and I have good results already. But…In the game Karjakin – Romero Holmes you claim that black should play like in the game Foster-Kadara and play 11….b5.I tried this when fooling around with fritz and fritz played 12.Nd5 and after 12….Nxd513.Nxb5! Qb8 14. Qxd5.Fritz claimed that white was already 1.20 pawns up. I don’t see much compensation for black.If you have the timeI would like to hear your comment on this.

Dear Benny, I think you are right! Let us replay the featured game and see if we can find some improvements.